Bicoastal Big Block has added director Richard Farmer to its roster. Among his spotmaking credits are Free Credit Score with a magically appearing Fancy Bear, and LG V20 phones which entailed creating 1990s’ R&B songs about iconic memes.
The recent LG commercials reflect Farmer’s innovative style and singular perspective. Shot exclusively on the LG V20 phone, Farmer took well-known memes, from “Double Rainbow” to “Damn Daniel,” and “remastered” them in high quality, showcasing a mash-up of his skills across the realms of narrative, music and VFX. It’s this adaptive talent that has garnered his work recognition at Cannes, The London Film Festival, the Malibu International Film Festival and the MTV Video Music Awards. At press time, Farmer has already hit the ground running at Big Block, having just booked a job for Simon Malls.
An Oklahoma native, Farmer spent time post-college living in London, Seattle and Prague, working on indie films and videos. He then began his ad career on the agency side, producing at Ground Zero in Los Angeles. After a few years, he went on to produce for Mindfield, a production, editorial, and animation company for commercial television and music videos.
Farmer made his first directorial mark as part of the Happy duo (with Guy Shelmerdine), working in commercials (including Wendy’s featuring carnivorous bunnies), music videos and short film fare. Farmer then broke out on his own as a solo director, settling in at Green Dot Films for six-plus years and later moving on to a two-year tenure at Humble, his most recent roost prior to joining Big Block.
Geno Imbriale, executive producer at Big Block, said of Farmer, “You can see his strength and passion for off-the-wall comedy in every spot he directs. His photography and music background–shooting bands and lifestyle—has only amplified his perfectly spot-on comedic timing. And because of his experience as a producer, Richard can talk the talk and interface seamlessly with clients to create the best possible vision.”
Review: Writer-Director Coralie Fargeat’s “The Substance”
In its first two hours, "The Substance" is a well-made, entertaining movie. Writer-director Coralie Fargeat treats audiences to a heavy dose of biting social commentary on ageism and sexism in Hollywood, with a spoonful of sugar- and sparkle-doused body horror.
But the film's deliciously unhinged, blood-soaked and inevitably polarizing third act is what makes it unforgettable.
What begins as a dread-inducing but still relatively palatable sci-fi flick spirals deeper into absurdism and violence, eventually erupting — quite literally — into a full-blown monster movie. Let the viewer decide who the monster is.
Fargeat — who won best screenplay at this year's Cannes Film Festival — has been vocal about her reverence for "The Fly" director David Cronenberg, and fans of the godfather of body horror will see his unmistakable influence. But "The Substance" is also wholly unique and benefits from Fargeat's perspective, which, according to the French filmmaker, has involved extensive grappling with her own relationship to her body and society's scrutiny.
"The Substance" tells the story of Elisabeth Sparkle, a famed aerobics instructor with a televised show, played by a powerfully vulnerable Demi Moore. Sparkle is fired on her 50th birthday by a ruthless executive — a perfectly cast Dennis Quaid, who nails sleazy and gross.
Feeling rejected by a town that once loved her and despairing over her bygone star power, Sparkle learns from a handsome young nurse about a black-market drug that promises to create a "younger, more beautiful, more perfect" version of its user. Though she initially tosses the phone number in the trash, she soon fishes it out in a desperate panic and places an order.
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